Many woodworking methods such as routing, joining and cutting involve the step of moving a workpiece past a rotating cutting tool. These operations are typically performed on a woodworking machine having a table. Examples of such machines include routertables, shapers, joiners, jointers, and table saws. Examples of rotating cutting tools include saw blades and router bits.
When performing a woodworking operation on a table such as routing, joining and cutting the machine operator must control the path of the workpiece as it moves relative to the cutting tool. The motion of the workpiece is typically guided in whole ore in part by hand. In some cases a motion guide may be utilized to aid the machine operator in guiding the motion of the workpiece. Examples of motion guides include fences, and featherboards.
A fence is typically an elongate metallic member which is fixed to the table of a machine. The fence typically includes an elongate, flat guiding surface which is oriented at a ninety degree angle to the top surface of the table. A workpiece may be held by the hands of the machine operator against the guiding surface of the fence as the workpiece is moved past the cutting tool.
A stop controls the movement of the workpiece by blocking its path. A stop may be used to position a plurality of workpieces in the same longitudinal position so that consistency can be achieved. This is particularly useful for repetitive operations, such as when several pieces of wood must be cut to equivalent length for cabinetry.
A feather board is a motion guide which may be utilized to prevent an occurrence known in the art as kickback. Kickback occurs when the workpiece binds to a cutting tool, for example the blade of a table saw. As a workpiece is cut on a table saw, the blade removes material from the workpiece creating an elongate kerf through the workpiece. Residual stresses within the workpiece sometimes cause the material of the workpiece to close around the blade. A portion of the workpiece may bind to the blade, causing the workpiece to be carried along with the blade as it rotates at high speed. When kickback occurs, the workpiece is thrown upwardly and rearwardly toward the body of the saw operator. The workpiece may strike the unfortunate operator causing bodily injury.
A feather board may include a plurality of pawls. The pawls are typically biased so that they ride over a surface of the workpiece as it is fed in a forward direction past the cutting tool. When a kickback situation arises, the workpiece begins movement in a reverse direction causing a corresponding rotation of the pawls. As the pawls rotate, they may jam the workpiece against a fence mounted on the table of the machine, thereby preventing any further reverse movement.
A table saw or sawbench is the most common piece of large woodworking equipment used by individual craftsmen. Because of its versatility, when only one piece of large woodworking machinery is owned, it will often be a table saw. The saw consists of a circular saw blade, mounted on an arbor, that is driven by an electric motor (either directly or by belt or gears). The blade protrudes through the surface of a table, which provides support for the material (usually wood) being cut.
In modern table saws, the depth of the cut is varied by adjusting the amount of the blade that protrudes above the table surface: the higher the blade protrudes above the table, the deeper the cut that is made in the material. In some early table saws, the blade and arbor were fixed, and the table was moved up and down to expose more or less of the blade. The angle of cut is controlled by adjusting the angle of blade. Some earlier saws angled the table to control the cut angle.
The central tool in almost all cabinetmaking shops is the table saw, probably the most useful single tool the average woodworker is going to have, because the work it does serves as a base for all that comes afterward. Used for sizing wood, the table saw may be seen primarily as a ripping machine, but it does so much else any woodshop without one can seem badly under equipped. Ripping boards to width is one job that is exceptionally important in most projects, but the table saw goes on to cut sheets of plywood, make crosscuts, do miter and bevel cutting and a host of other jobs, just as it comes from its maker. With jigs, the table saw works to make tenons, crosscut wide or very long lumber, make repetitive cuts, cut grooves and slots and molding and much else, including cutting raised panels.
There are two distinct types of router; the plunge router and the fixed (or standard) router. Both types can offer the same end results, although each type is better for particular jobs. The plunge router is especially useful when the routed area begins in the middle of the wood, rather than at the edge. The maximum plunge depth can be set so that you slowly lower the router bit into the wood while keeping the router flat on the wood's surface. While a fixed router can also be used in this example, the router cut depth is fixed and you must hold the router at an angle as you slowly allow the router bit to cut into the wood. This is not as accurate for small routs.
The fixed router is far better for routs along the edge of a piece of wood. The fixed router is also better for any time when the depth of the cut must be very accurate. Fixed routers allow very small increases in the depth of cut and are far more accurate than plunge routers. Further, if you are considering attaching your router to a router table, a plunge router is not suitable. If you only have the budget for one router, we recommend that you start with a fixed router. Routers are typically used to cut grooves, hollow out larger areas and create decorative trims along the edge of a piece of wood. The shapes that can be cut by your router are limited only by the number of router bits that you own.